From the University of Tokyo to Space: Mr. Yuichi Tsuda, Project Manager of Hayabusa2

His interest in manufacturing started at Kennedy Space Center

I first became interested in the aerospace field when I visited the Kennedy Space Center in the United States during my early elementary school years. Though humans are tiny, they gathered together to create something big. I was impressed by such a contrast. That is how my interest in aerospace began, so that rather than just talking about stars, the solar system, or black holes, I wanted to build a space ship as a vehicle to go to such places, or a robot that becomes my alter ego and goes to the stars. My interest in the aerospace field began with the feeling that it would be amazing to go where no one has ever gone before.

Birdman, CanSat and CubeSat, manufacturing in the age of engineering

When I was a university student, the Department of Aerospace Engineering had a Birdman student club (F-tec), and I participated in it and built a human-powered airplane. In my fourth year of university, we took the plane we built to Lake Biwa for a competition, but it was canceled due to a typhoon, and our members cried in frustration. When I was a first-year master's student, I took the same plane to the competition with some modifications and was able to fly it for 1224 m, which was the best record for the University of Tokyo at that time. It was a painful but enjoyable experience to see something we had made work in the real world.

Photo of the Birdman aircraft

The Hori and Nakasuka Laboratory, to which I belonged at the University of Tokyo, was mainly engaged in research to conduct simulations and did not deal much with actual spacecraft. However, when I went to an international conference in Oahu, Hawaii, we had a lively discussion about building a nano-satellite the size of a juice can. An American professor tried very hard to tell me that even a student could build a satellite that would really go into space. As a master's student, I was skeptical because I thought that such a thing was something for professionals to do, but he was so passionate about it that it made me believe that it really could be done. I brought this story back to Japan and started the CanSat (a nano-satellite the size of a 350 mL can) project.

Photo of the CanSat

At the Hawaii meeting, we decided to launch the CanSat that each of us had built and demonstrate its operation from a ground station by the time of the next meeting in one year, and then disbanded. In reality, it was impossible to do this in one year due to various issues such as how to launch the satellite, but we did many things with the intention of really launching it. In the end, we were able to build something that would operate similar to a satellite while parachuting back from an altitude of about 4 km. We had an armature rocket group which flies rockets as a hobby in the desert in the U.S. launch one with our CanSats on it.

The CanSat activity led to a project to build a cube-shaped satellite (10 cm on each side) that would really go into space. This was the beginning of the nano-satellite called CubeSat.

Photo of the CubeSat

During the three years of my PhD program, CubeSat activities became more serious. Building a satellite itself takes about a year and a half, but launching it is very difficult. We needed someone to launch it, so the lab professors and students split up to find a way, going to places like the U.S. and Russia. In the end, we spent a lot of time trying to launch our satellites. After the second year of the doctoral program, I handed over the project manager position to someone else and wrote my doctoral thesis, and finally we were able to launch the satellite in June of the year I graduated from the doctoral program.

Hayabusa, IKAROS, Hayabusa2: his work at JAXA

I joined ISAS in April 2003. The launch of the first Hayabusa had been scheduled for May, so there was no one in Sagamihara, and all the professors had gone to Uchinoura (Kagoshima Prefecture), where the launch site was located. I didn't know how to proceed with the business trip procedure, but I was asked to come, and when I arrived at Uchinoura, I was put in the Hayabusa team. I was able to be involved with Hayabusa right from the time of its launch, and after launch I was put in charge of operations in Sagamihara.

Hayabusa ©JAXA

As a researcher, I wanted to fly a spacecraft that I had built, and IKAROS was the first to achieve this. IKAROS was a demonstration of solar sail technology, in which a large membrane surface is spread out in space and receives sunlight on its surface to propel it forward.

It also has its roots in CubeSat, which I happened to be working on at the University of Tokyo. When I was at the University of Tokyo, one of the pillars of what we were doing in the laboratory was a mission called Furoshiki Satellite, which was to expand a large furoshiki (wrapping cloth) in space. The idea was to achieve something like expanding a large furoshiki to generate electricity with solar cells, making it into a communication satellite by attaching a large-area antenna, or creating a space system that is light but has a large area. In order to realize this, we needed to mount a large object on a rocket and fold it up, which required origami technology. I proposed the folding method I had thought of when I was at the University of Tokyo to those who wanted to make a solar sail. We conducted full-scale tests with various large facilities at ISAS, and the IKAROS project was launched. I happened to have found an interesting connection with origami, which I had been doing as a university student.

IKAROS ©JAXA

IKAROS was launched in 2010. In the same year, Hayabusa came back later than scheduled due to some trouble. Japan was in a state of Hayabusa fever, and the Hayabusa2 project, the next project after Hayabusa, was underway. I became a project engineer in the position of a technical leader. I was in charge of deciding what Hayabusa2 would look like, what orbit it would fly in, how it would get to the asteroid, and what observation instruments it would carry. IKAROS was a simple project with a small number of members, so Hayabusa2 gave me a chance to do what I had wanted to do for a long time: build a full-scale probe with a full-fledged organization.

Hayabusa2 ©JAXA

Hayabusa2 was launched in December 2014, and its phase changed from launch to full-scale operations. The expertise required changed, and with an aspect of rejuvenating the project, I was asked if I would be interested in being the project manager. I took pride in the fact that I was the person who knew the most about the technology of the entire spacecraft, so I thought I should take advantage of that, and I became the project manager.

When we actually reached Ryugu, the target of Hayabusa2, we found it to be a very rugged asteroid. So the test was to make the most of what we had in the given environment to make the mission a success. It was a tough challenge, but a very rewarding one.

Hayabusa2 operation control room ©JAXA

When I think about it, I was in an environment where I could try new things that no one had ever done before, such as the Birdman club and the CanSat and CubeSat projects. At that time, I realized how important it is to make friends. You cannot take on any challenges alone, you need 10 or 20 people. How can you work together with these people to achieve a single goal and succeed? There were many things I learned through these experiences. In the case of Hayabusa2, the scale of the project was large, with 600 people involved, but I think I was able to make use of the team building methods that I naturally learned at the University of Tokyo while creating new technologies.

I think it is a good idea to have one or preferably two areas in which you are more of an expert than anyone else. The University of Tokyo has an environment where you can do that. We have an environment where you can do all kinds of research and experiments, and we have excellent staff. The University of Tokyo is a gateway to the world through this environment. Please make full use of this environment and create a part of yourself that says you are an expert in this area more than anyone else.

At the same time, broaden your horizons by getting along with a variety of people. When you talk to various people, you will realize that there are people who are working hard in places that are different from your interests, and this will stimulate your motivation, and may sometimes lead to new interests for you. It is also fun to have a variety of friends.

Group photo with Mr. Tsuda

Interview and writing by Keidai Toyoshima, Isami Dainichi
Photo courtesy of Mr. Yuichi Tsuda / JAXA